It's You and Me
by Songbird341
Summary: Cancun was the dream – Yerba was the nightmare. Faced with family, friends, and an enemy country which all aim to tear them apart, Beck and Jade are given the choice to band together, or to stand alone.
1. Chapter 1

**It's You and Me**

* * *

 _Cancun was the dream -_ _Yerba was the nightmare. Faced with family, friends, and an enemy country which all aim to tear them apart, Beck and Jade are given the choice to band together, or to stand alone._

* * *

There was only one bathroom on their floor, so everyone lined up in the hallway to take their turn before retiring for bed. Trina insisted on the first turn, which lasted far longer than anyone had anticipated – leaving everyone standing silently, sleepily, in the hall. Beck stood beside Andre and Cat, across from Tori and Robbie, but his eyes were set on the far end of the hallway, leading to the girls' bedroom. Jade was busy changing her clothes behind that door, which was nothing to be concerned about; but this was the longest he had been away from her all day.

He'd made a point of keeping in her vicinity as consistently as possible – not necessarily since their arrival, but certainly after the hotel had been invaded… by soldiers. The entire situation had left everyone in a state of shock, and now, they barely spoke to each other. Aside from a familiar expression of horror, they shared nothing.

Since it became increasingly apparent that Trina would not exit the bathroom in the near future, Beck wandered away from the group and their quiet chatter, toward the girls' bedroom. He was curious to see how Jade was handling their situation. She had always been a fan of the morbid, and their spring break getaway certainly seemed to be hitting that morbid area…

He knocked lightly on the door, trying not to alert the others with the sound, and waited silently at the door. When he received no answer, he whispered through the door, "Babe? It's me."

The door cracked open, and he peeked inside. The room was barely lit, so he did not see her until he had entered completely. He found her shadowed figure standing by the window, pulling a shirt over her head; and he approached her slowly. "Hey."

"Hey," she said, a bit sharply. Beck didn't know if this anger was directed at him or at Tori – and either was likely. Just in case, he made the assumption that she was upset about the foreigners' flirting with him. "I'm sorry."

She looked up at him, and he caught a glimpse of her eyes, reflecting from the hall light. "Tori's the one who should be sorry." Straightening out her sleeves, she added under her breath, "This country's a wreck."

In hopes of lightening her mood, he moved closer and slipped his arms through hers, around her waist. "It's not a total wreck," he lied, glancing around the destitute and strangely scented bedroom. "It's a bit dirty, and a little violent – but a little violence is always fun, right?"

"Yeah," she admitted with a sigh. She turned to fit into his embrace, and peered up into his eyes. Strangely, though no one was around to hear, she lowered her voice. "This is more than a little violence, Beck. The whole country's at war."

Beck, who had apparently been the last to hear this news, raised his eyebrows questioningly. "At _war?_ " he clarified.

She nodded her head slowly, furiously. "Yeah, yeah. Tori thought she'd finally _tell_ us that now that we're all trapped here."

Still stunned, he tried to reason through this. "I'm sure she didn't know about it before now."

Her body stiffened, and though he could not see her face but in dark shapes, he could sense those same annoyed and disapproving narrowed eyes. "Why are you always sticking up for her?" she asked angrily though her voice was hushed.

He swallowed. "I'm not _always_ sticking up for her."

"Yes, you are!" she insisted. "And I'm not being 'jealous girlfriend', here, okay? We are in a strange country, with weird people, at _war,_ and it- it's crazy, and right now, I need you to be on my side."

"Babe-" he tried to interrupt, but it was no use.

"Whatever." She pulled out of his arms abruptly, her voice taking a strange tone. "I know you think I'm ridiculous, but it is _hard_ for me to be in a relationship with you when you're always fighting me. I need you to stick up for me!" She inhaled loudly, betraying the emotion behind her words. "Even if I'm wrong, or if I'm being silly, I need to _know_ -"

As her words broke off, and as she angrily threw her shirt on the bed, and as she focused all her attention on attempting to pry the window open, Beck began to understand that this outburst had very little to do with their current situation, and a lot more to do with the reason they weren't in Cancun right now. That was a much more difficult discussion to have.

Approaching her from behind, he reached around her and set a hand over hers, until the incessant jerking came to a stop and gave relief to the windowsill. "Hey," he whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry about my aunt. She just likes to cause drama."

She didn't even look back at him, but calmly pulled the window up. "Your family's always gonna hate me."

"They don't know you."

"I don't want them to," she muttered, and finally turned toward him. "Why can't it just be you and me? Screw your aunt. Screw Tori. Screw everyone else."

The heat of their discussion was interrupted at the sound of the bathroom door, finally opening. The hallway broke into loud conversation, mainly consisting of groans and complaints, as someone else occupied the restroom. By the time they had settled down, Beck had sneaked his arms around her again, and she allowed him to stay.

"Well, for the time being, it's not just you and me," he eventually muttered, and squeezed her. "Are you going to be all right with all the girlies?"

She elbowed him in the stomach at his teasing. "Do I have a choice?" When she caught him smiling, she added lowly, "Maybe you shouldn't laugh so much. I can't imagine what Robbie's like in bed."

He might have shot back some joke, but he was far too invested in her cheek, which he kissed up to the corner of her lips. She smiled, likely for the first time that evening, and leaned back against him.

"Don't get too comfortable," she warned. "We've got a _long_ …"

Her voice trailed off as a sound pierced through the stillness of night, unusually loud and far in the distance. They paused, looking out the window, and noticed a reddish hue come over the rooftops. It was a siren.

She looked back at him quickly. "What's that?"

Without hesitance, Beck pulled her back from the window. "Get back," he warned her, and stumbled back from the window. She spun around to face him, eyes wide in confusion, but he did not have time to reassure her. The ground trembled, speaking for him, and a loud noise followed closely behind. The trembling grew violent, forcing them to grab around for their balance.

Once the quaking subsided, Jade asked again, loudly, "What _was_ that?"

"Are you all right?"

"What **_was_** that? Was- was that a _bomb?_ Is that what that _was?_ "

"Calm down," he implored her, reaching out to take her shoulders. He tried to check on her, but she flew past him and into the hall, rage in her eyes.

" _Was – that – a –_ _ **bomb**_ _?"_ she shouted into the hallway, uncaring of whom she might wake. Beck ran after her, finally arriving behind her when she reached the others outside the bathroom. "Can we _talk_ about this? Huh? _Toriii?_ " She glared at Tori, who had fled the bathroom in wake of the frightening occurrence. "Huh?"

"I don't know what that was!" Tori cried in terror, glancing around at the others as they flooded into the hallway.

There was a high-pitched noise, which Beck had thought to be some hearing loss from the loud noise, and it revealed itself to be Cat's screaming. The redhead flew toward them, hair like a streak of flame, with ears covered. She asked loudly, "Why did the _ground_ _ **shake**_ _?_ "

"Good question, Cat!" Jade snapped, and Beck saw her muscles tensing. He reached out without asking and began to rub her shoulders, hoping to calm her down. Temporarily, she did stop yelling.

Trina, however, interrupted her peace with a screeching cry: "We're gonna _die!_ "

And Cat started to cry. And Jade started to tense up.

Thankfully, since Beck was still in shock and Robbie was Robbie, André took the initiative and reined them all in together. "All right! We all need to calm down!"

"Yeah! Calm down!" Robbie echoed him.

Jade's head snapped toward the pair of glasses and she said in equal volume, "We're calm! _Thank_ you!"

André and Tori stepped between her and Robbie before an argument sparked. "Okay," Tori interrupted gently. "Okay, I'm going to go find Sgrodis, and we'll find out just how serious-"

Screams erupted as another explosion sounded off, and the lights flickered, and the building shook violently. Jade stumbled back into Beck, and he stumbled back against the wall; Cat and André clung to the walls while Trina and Robbie flailed; and Tori ran down the hallway to find Sgrodis, falling over a few times in the process.

The shaking finally subsided, though in its shock they were all frozen for a good minute afterward. The explosion grew fainter, suggesting that the origin was farther away now - but only once the air was clear did the six of them spring to life again. All but two huddled together to discuss finding a flight back to America overnight; and the two leftover made their own group aside.

"They're never gonna find a flight," Jade muttered, and glanced toward the open bathroom. "I think I'll take my turn now."

"Be careful," he warned as she walked off.

"I know how to pee," she said over her shoulder. The door shut loudly behind her, causing the entire group to jump again.

He sighed, left alone, and leaned back against the wall by the group.

"-a country at _war!_ I can't believe I came _with_ you guys!"

"I can't believe it either."

"Rex!"

"Who are we even at war with?"

"Yerba, silly."

"Cat…"

"- _my_ fault my parents _forced_ me to come with you guys!"

"You threw a golf club at your parents!"

"Like you've never been angry at your grandma?"

"She's got a _medicalcondition_."

" _Hallo, buddies!"_

Every head turned at the foreigner's voice, and they stepped back to allow Sgrodis to enter the hallway. Beck stood up straight to see the man shuffling up to them, all nervous smiles and sleepy hair. "I hear you have some qualms about the safety of our country, ah?

He proceeded to run them down with a long speech about explosion radius, war zones, soldier stations, and virtually anything else that could possibly calm them down. Although the girls, and even André, seemed to be more put at ease by his words, Beck was not appeased – but perhaps this was because of the girl in the bathroom.

Soon, Sgrodis had convinced them to try to ignore the explosions, as they would only be sporadic and in the distance – so they continued their routine, and once Jade was finished in the bathroom, Cat took her place.

"What's going on?" she asked, stepping into the hallway. Most of the teens had scattered into their rooms, though Beck and Robbie remained. She glanced between the two curiously; and when she caught Beck's stare again, she added under her breath, "Beck, what?"

He looked at Robbie, who now slid away slightly, and muttered, "We're not leaving."

She sighed. "Great."

"Are you gonna be all right?" he asked nervously, stepping closer.

She shook off his question. "I'll be fine."

Beck didn't respond, but narrowed his eyes in concern. His serious fear disturbed her, and she set her hand on his arm lightly. "I'll be _fine_ ," she reiterated. "I'm starting to worry about you, though."

They fell very silent, and as Beck moved in even closer to her, they became very aware of Robbie's presence in the hallway. Beck's plan was to ignore him, but Jade sent an intimidating glare toward the boy and his puppet, until they both averted their heads. Beck had to chuckle at her strategy, and pulled her in for a kiss.

Jade sighed against his lips and slipped her arms around him, drawing him closer; they held onto the moment, and were a few kisses deeper before they were interrupted by the bathroom door. Cat tumbled out into the hallway, catching them there and receiving quick, sharp looks. She blinked at them widely, smiling, and tiptoed past them, to the girls' bedroom. But before she entered, she turned back, and tapped Jade's shoulder. "Jade, are you coming to bed?"

"Yeah," she sighed, looking back at Beck. "Don't sleep next to Robbie," she warned him quietly, and kissed him quickly before releasing him.

Beck winked at her, and let her hands go. "Goodnight."

And he watched her go, leaving him alone with Robbie. Beck turned toward him eventually, and nodded at the empty bathroom. "Go ahead," he offered.

Robbie made some unhelpful comment about how this could be his last pee, but Beck was out of the hall before he could hear the end of it.

Morning would not come swiftly for Beck, although Jade slept like a log. Many times throughout the long night, as bombs fell from the sky and shook the building, Beck wondered how she was doing, and if she was awake. And the moment he woke in the morning, he was determined to get her home as soon as possible.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious or its characters.**

* * *

 _Dear fandom,_

 _I have returned from the depths._

 _It's Songbird341 again, after years of absence. In this time, I have written three full-length novels, and am proud to soon release my currently-150,000-word project online in the coming months (under a different account). But I wanted to return to my roots, and I had some old fanfiction I'd never posted – so, unedited and at least a couple of years old, enjoy_ _ **It's You and Me**_ _, a Beck/Jade story which taps into the untapped plot bounty which is Yerba. Expect a few more installments in the coming days, and don't forget to leave reviews! I'd love to hear what you guys think :)_

 _**-Songbird341-**_


	2. Chapter 2

**I Can't Take My Eyes Off You**

* * *

 _Three times Beck watches Jade perform - including some of the worst song decisions I've ever made in my life. Forgive me. This was easily 2014 when I wrote this._

* * *

 **I) Hell on Heels**

* * *

 _"Poor old Billy! Bless his heart!"_

"Cat..."

 _"I'm stiiiilll using his credit card!"_

"Cat!" Jade snapped, and looked up at her from across the room - no too great a distance to silence her with a harsh glare. "Save it for the stage, all right?"

Cat wrinkled her eyebrows. "Why so grumpy? Aren't you excited to perform?"

She hesitated to answer, considering the question as she peeled back the edge of the curtain. Her stomach turned, twisting tighter into its knot with every person to enter the room and find a seat. "I'm something," she answered thinly, dropping the curtain. She didn't know what it was about this one performance that unnerved her, but she found herself curiously unable to conceal her weakness. Perhaps it was from a lack of sleep, or more due to the soldiers lining every street corner and hallway - any number of things could have contributed to her anxiety. Paranoia held her prisoner, feeling watched no matter where she stood. She tried to convince herself that no one cared enough to watch her as much as she feared; but now, she would be performing in front of them all, with every eye undoubtedly and heavily on her...

"Cat!" she shouted again, spinning around to face her. Cat wore an expression of shock.

"I'm not singing!" she protested.

"You're _humming_!"

"Well, you never said I couldn't do that!" she shouted back, and immediately retreated toward Tori and André, even farther from the loose cannon that was Jade West this evening.

Having scared off everyone now, Jade sunk back into herself, crossed arms atop bent knees, and exhaled the frustration. Stage nerves were embarrassing and immature, and she would hate to let anyone see them behind all her anger.

"Hey guys," a familiar voice called, attracting their attention. "You've got five minutes. Break a leg."

"Thanks, Robbie!" Cat grinned. "You, too! _Both_ of them," she said seriously, though a giggle lurked underneath. Since Robbie wasn't performing tonight - the theme was Ladies' Night, and Robbie was sure to remind them that he was not going to take part, even if he preferred the songs - this comment bothered him and he walked away from it. A little bit behind him, Beck Oliver remained, and stepped up to them.

"Break a leg," he added quietly, offering a small smile.

"Thanks, Beck!" And Tori smiled a flirty little smile at him, which Jade felt compelled to attack - but her upset stomach told her to stay seated, instead.

Beck spotted her next, and made a strange face as he watched her in her huddle. He was careful in approaching her, since she claimed to prefer solitude prior to performances; but he thought he should check on her, anyway.

"You guys sounded great in rehearsal," he said when he reached her, and set a wandering hand on her knee. "Even if it is a country song."

Jade groaned at that, and buried her face in her hands. "Why do we let Cat pick things, ever? Do we _forget_ she's a nine year old?"

He chuckled, and sat down beside her, though there wasn't an abundance of space for him. "Well, at least you and Tori picked good ones."

"If anyone's still around to hear them," Jade mumbled, but the complaint was gone quickly when she looked up at him. He must have seen something in her eyes, because she certainly saw something change in his. "What?"

"Are you all right?" he whispered, and wrapped his arm around her waist. "You seem... stressed."

Although she wouldn't be convicted of that, she relaxed into his arms and replied, "Are you gonna be doing the sound with Robbie?" This question was obviously an attempt to dodge the topic, but Beck didn't think it was worth pointing out.

"Yes ma'am, and we'll be watching," he assured her, kissing her temple. "Seriously, did you get any sleep last night?"

She rested her head on his shoulder and shrugged. "Not after everyone woke me up. I'm not tired, though."

He wasn't convinced, and turned a bit in his seat so that he was behind her rather than beside her. "C'mere," he whispered, and reached for her shoulders. And even though he knew she would protest, he began a massage.

She hummed out a long breath as he began, his thumbs pressing into her tension, and gave into him at first. Her eyes closed and she took on a hint of a smile at his kindness - though she had to stop him. "Beck, we've got two minutes."

"That's a long time," he replied calmly, and continued to rub her shoulders against protest. Soon, she didn't fight him anymore, and by then, the tiny auditorium had filled entirely.

Sikowitz swiftly arrived backstage, calling in hushed tones, "Beck, André, and Robbie! Gather!"

Hearing the call, Beck kissed her neck and whispered, "Break a leg, babe."

"Thanks," she replied, her meaning clear. Once crabby, she now wore a hint of a smile, and turned her head so that no one would notice her blush.

When she had recovered from Beck's effect, she looked back at the boys where they congregated backstage. Sikowitz had just finished giving them his unintelligible orders, and now sent them off with pats on their shoulders. Robbie and André took off toward the curtain, while Beck went around for the sound booth outside - but not before winking her way. She returned the wink and smiled, holding onto the expression until Tori appeared in her peripheral vision. Cat popped up on her other side, offering a grin up at her. And then André and Robbie cut straight through the girls to introduce them beyond the curtain.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen..."_

While they carried on, attempting to banter with the unresponsive audience, the three performers focused on settling their microphones, fixing their hair, straightening their clothes and whatnot. Jade was silent the entire time, withholding her annoyed comments at their country-pop opener.

The boys hopped off the stage just as the music began, and they lined up to enter on time - Cat first, then Tori, then Jade. And they split the curtains.

Jade worked hard to appear more enthusiastic than she truly was about this southern song, crooning with the other two, " _I'm hell on heels - say what you will. I've done made the devil a deal..."_

Cat popped up. "He made me pretty..."

"He made me smart," Tori added.

Jade cut in between them. "And I'm gonna break me a million hearts."

 _"I'm hell on heels. Baby, I'm coming for you..."_

As Tori took her verse, Jade followed through with her simple task of sauntering around the stage, as per Tori's _brilliant_ choreography. And as she went, lingering at her side of the stage, her eyes bounced from face to face in the audience, until she found the boys standing at the corner. Arriving at Beck, she sent him a sideways look, somewhat sultry, before turning her back to him. His response was perfectly enamored; and every time their eyes met again, throughout the entire set, he wore the same expression which distracted her almost too much. Jade tried to focus, of course, as a serious, mature performer - but Beck would always make it difficult for her, inevitably. It was a price she was willing to pay.

* * *

 **II) Talking in Your Sleep**

* * *

 _"When I hold you in ma-nn-nn-nn..."_

Beck sang quietly to himself as he tuned his guitar, though he could hardly hear his own voice over the bustling audience, all whispering in their private language. They could have been saying any number of things about the fluffy American onstage, but Beck pretended as if they weren't there, all the same. He was already nervous enough.

Tonight would be their third performance, and they had finally mapped out their schedule: with André leading a Jason Mraz theme, followed by Beck and Jade holding a duo acoustic night; then Boy's Night, followed by Cat and Tori's Pop theme; Classic Rock Night and Group Night to close. Everyone else had been fine and eager to lead their individual night - even Robbie and Rex, who didn't sing as often as the others, were dying to duet some old rock songs - so Beck felt compelled to accept, as well. But personally, he did not feel so confident with singing in public.

It wasn't as if he hadn't practiced plenty. For years, he and Jade had dueted in private or at small gatherings, with his guitar in a nice silence. Sometimes Jade would play piano, even if she only knew a few songs. Their harmonies blended perfectly together, though Beck felt somewhat inferior to Jade musically. She always insisted that he had a great voice. She just couldn't convince _him_ of that.

That confidence would have been valuable on this night - _their_ night. The hotel guests had loved André's voice, of course, but they'd complained that English songs were too wordy for their tastes. He and Jade were taking on more eerie, almost folksy duets, most of which were more melody-driven and hopefully a better choice for their audience. So they already had an advantage, of sorts.

Beck plucked at the guitar again - not _his_ guitar, since he hadn't expected to make use of it - and glanced back at the curtain expectantly. As soon as Jade was dressed, they would begin their set. It was all a matter of waiting now.

Beck exhaled nervously. His guitar had been in tune long before now. He just wanted to appear to be doing something.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen..."_

The entire room dwindled into a hush at the unexpected voice - Sikowitz's voice. Beck looked around for the man, wherever he and his microphone were standing, to try to signal him to wait. Jade still wasn't ready, and he couldn't go on without her.

But Sikowitz didn't either notice or care for Jade's absence and continued to introduce them. _"Please welcome, from America's Hollywood Arts High School, Beck Oliver and Jade West!"_

To his relief, the curtains were thrown open, and one beautiful Jade West approached his side, smiling at him rather than at the audience. And Beck wondered if she had been waiting just to make this kind of entrance.

In support of the laidback coffee-house theme, the two performers would sit back-to-back on a bench, center stage, relaxed. Beck had a feeling that he wouldn't be too relaxed, however, when Jade sauntered up to him and sank down beside him. Her back came to rest warm against his, and her hand tugged at his wrist lightly. "Ready?" she whispered.

Beck swallowed and turned to kiss her cheek. In her ear, he replied, "Start us off."

The entire room was dead silent as she smiled, taking her sweet time. He caught it in the corner of his vision - that lost, overtaken look in her eyes as she gazed over the small crowd. She held her breath for a moment, reveling in the silence, before she broke the stillness.

 _"When you close your eyes, and you fall asleep..."_ she sang, and crossed her legs slowly.

Beck strummed a short, rhythmic pattern behind her voice, and replied, _"And it's down to the sound of your heartbeat..."_

Jade crossed her arms calmly. _"I can hear the things you're dreaming about..."_

Beck restrained his smile, his nerves beginning to dissipate. _"When you open up your heart and the truth comes out..."_

The guitar began to build, and as it strummed loudly through the room, it held a soft quality which reined her closer against him, shoulders pressed to shoulders. He inhaled at the contact and added, _"You tell me that you want me..."_

Jade hummed quietly behind him and replied, _"You tell me that you need me,"_ with ghosts in her eyes.

He looked up at the lights. _"You tell me that you love me."_

Her hands came down on her knee. _"And I know that I'm right, 'cause I hear it in the night..."_

Together, they sighed, _"I hear the secrets that you keep... Mmm... When you're talking in your sleep..."_

In the space between the lines, Jade sent shivers up his spine. She laid her head back on his shoulder and calmly closed her eyes.

 _"When I hold you in my arms at night..."_

She hummed again, resonating on his skin. _"Don't you know that you're sleeping in the spotlight?"_ She hissed it in his ear, and might have kissed it, but not here.

 _"And all the dreams you keep inside..."_

Her head moved to the back of his and she replied, _"You're telling me the secrets that you just can't hide..."_

Beck felt his nerves subside and he strummed again, in longer stride. _"You tell me that you want me..."_

 _"Mmm... You tell me that you need me..."_

 _"Oh, you tell me that you love me, no..."_

 _"And I know that I'm right,"_ she cried. " _I hear it in the night, oh..."_

 _"I hear the secrets that you keep..."_

 _"Mmm..."_

 _"When you're talking in your sleep..."_

 _"I hear-"_

 _"I hear..."_

 _"The secrets that you keep... When you're talking in your sleep..."_

Although this wasn't their intention, the opening song left the audience with the feeling that they were trespassing on some sort of quiet, private moment between the two singers. _Talking in Your Sleep_ turned the stage into a very dark night, after which _Wild Side_ swept them into some back room in a bar, and so on, and so forth. It was only another style of music in the week of course, but they were taken into the songs personally - by the young man who had been visibly shaking only a short time before, and the young woman who had come out looking like she could devour them all if she so wished. But in the music, they transformed each other into something much different, and something far too intimate for some hotel dinner show in a war-torn country.

* * *

 **III) All I Want is Everything**

* * *

 _"I feel delirious..."_

Beck seemed to have caught the delirium as he watched the stage from afar, covered in speckles of red and purple and black as the girls moved along the stage, while André remained fairly frozen in place at first. Beck's eyes weren't on most of them anyway. He kept watch on the girl coming his way.

 _"Come, let's get out of here. We're so anonymous, but..."_

Finally, the other girls joined Tori's voice: _"It's all coming clear."_

 _"We're headed for the sky..."_

As Tori took over again, Jade approached the edge of the stage - in perfect sync with the others, of course, but with her secret agenda. She narrowed her eyes at her awing boyfriend, who was now forgetting every one of his duties at the soundboard.

 _"And we'll get lost in it, 'cause all I want..."_

Jade leaned his way a bit and added her harmony. _"All I want..."_

 _"All I want is everything..."_

Somehow she had slipped away from him, and back toward the center of the stage. Beck veiled his attempts to get a peek at her, but no one was fooled - and a grumpy Robbie practically grabbed the lighting controls from Beck's fingertips.

 _"And I will pose, if I wanna..."_

Cat finally knelt down so Beck could see her in the back.

 _"And I will vogue, like Madonna..."_

They all came in again. _"I might not dance like M.J. - R.I.P..."_

 _"But I will give the best of me..."_

As the chorus came in full blast, Beck kept his eye on the other side of the stage, though once or twice he was mildly distracted by André and the large lump adorning his neck. Every once in a while, he spared a daring look backward at the Chancellor, in his elevated seat with one eye locked on the girls as they danced. Beck couldn't suppress a certain concern as he glanced between Jade, and all his friends, and the peering eye of this foreign leader. He wanted to turn the lights down a bit.

 _"As long as it feels right!"_ they sang in many harmonies. _"At least we know that we're alive!"_

 _"All I want is everything - yeah, everything, yeah..."_ The dance ceased. _"Whoa..."_

Beck's attention was recaptured as the group approached his side of the stage, with Jade in the forefront, all smiles now that she had relaxed into the music.

 _"We don't ever stop..."_

She winked at him. _"Let's watch the sun come up."_

And with one cute grin flashing his way, and one returned to her, she turned, and made for her pose.

 _"We'll sleep when we're dead, 'cause..."_

They froze. _"Halfway kinda sucks."_

 _"We're headed for the sky, and we'll get lost in it, 'cause all I want-"_

 _"All I want-"_ they sang in their line.

 _"All I want is everything..."_

Robbie started to cheer, but Beck, feeling the weight of the Chancellor's surveillance, stopped him short.

 _"And I will pose, if I wanna; and I will vogue, like Madonna! I might not dance like M.J., R.I.P..."_

Beck relaxed and leaned back, since Jade was too far to be flirting now.

 _"But I will give the best of me! All I want is everything, yeah, ev-"_

But the line was cut off when a scream erupted from the back of the room. The entire room looked back with a jolt, and realized, almost all at once, that the sound came from the Chancellor, himself.

And the room went into frenzy.

* * *

Even after Tori was taken, though the Chancellor had made his exit with his damaged eye, the room was hectic. Everyone struggled to take the lighting down, and remove their belongings from their rooms, and otherwise prepared for what Beck could only predict was some sort of anticipated attack. He didn't know if he or anyone else should be doing the same, but they were distracted from the task by the new complication holding off their departure from Yerba.

"Does she go straight to prison?" André asked Sgrodis, who, being bombarded with all their questions, did not have time to answer.

"Are they gonna hurt her?" Robbie asked.

"How do we get her out? Is there a court or something?"

"What's happening?" stuttered Cat, who was still in shock. Beck felt bad for the frightened girl and gave her a squeeze around the shoulders.

"It's gonna be all right," he said through all the other voices clouding the air.

Cat didn't seem to believe him, and glanced around for someone else to ask. "Where's Jade?"

"Oh, she's over..." he began, until he realized that she wasn't "over there" or "over" anywhere that he could see. He turned around in a full circle, searching for her head in all the heads, or her voice in all the voices. He couldn't place her, which was no good sign.

He swallowed. "I don't know. I'm gonna look for her."

 _"Beck!"_

He turned at the unpleasant sound of Trina's voice. "What?"

"You're just gonna leave me here while my sister is in danger?" she snapped, more for the sake of wanting his attention than needing his help.

He ignored her comment, since no one was paying attention anyway, and turned toward the stage. He thought he had seen her disappear backstage, so he peeked his head behind the curtain to check. "Jade?"

She was nowhere in immediate scope, so he walked in further and peered around the corners. "Jade?"

Then he found her, knelt down at the edge of the wall, face white as a sheet despite the blue glow of her phone. Beck swallowed. "Hey..."

She looked up at him instantly, and her eyes widened. "Are you okay?" she asked, reaching up to him as he approached her. He took her hand and sat down beside her.

"I'm fine," he assured her. In turn, he asked, "You?"

"Yeah," she muttered. "I saw what happened."

Beck dropped her hand and reached his arm around her, pulling her closer. "We're all just trying to figure out what to do now. Come with us?"

She averted her eyes. "I figured out what _we're_ doing."

He blinked. "What?"

To aid her explanation, she showed him her phone screen and answered, "You and I are flying back tonight. No argument."

"What?" he asked incredulously. "We're just gonna leave her here in foreign _prison?_ "

"We'll get help for her there, but we have to get out of this country," she insisted, and lowered her voice to a whisper, "before something else happens."

"What if they don't let us leave?" he questioned. "Or if they don't let us come back?"

"It's not a perfect answer, but it's something!"

"I'm not going!"

"Beck," she interjected quietly, her voice less of a snap and more pleading.

And though he still disagreed passionately, he realized, then, that this was the thing. This was the problem they always had, when they refused to understand each other's perspective. She was always telling him about it, but neither of them ever tried to remedy it.

And perhaps, he could see why she would want to leave. Their situation was terrifying, of course, and though she always put up a brave front, she was susceptible to fear. It even lingered now, in her eyes and expression, though overtoned with shadows of frustration. Fighting with her wouldn't make her any less afraid.

"Hey," he whispered, and caught her eyes again. Taking her far hand, he whispered, "We're gonna be fine. We'll figure it out."

"You don't know."

"I do. Just stay with me, okay?" He reached out and stole a kiss from her, and probably one more before he retreated. Her expression relaxed slightly. "We'll all be fine as long as we stick together."

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or the characters.**

* * *

 _I don't know how much of this was written from a plot standpoint, and how much was written from the intense desire to see Beck and Jade perform a sultry song together - but take it for what it is. And don't forget to review :)_

 _**-Songbird341-**_


	3. Chapter 3

**You Got My Head Spinning**

* * *

 _A game of Rocks takes Beck by surprise, and Jade is left to watch from the other side of the bars._

* * *

"Cat," she tried again, keeping her voice low, "I really don't think this 'prison gang' is a good plan for you."

Cat giggled at the concern. "But they're so nice! And they love me!"

After two days in one prison cell, watching the redhead and her prison friends interact, Jade knew that this claim was undeniably true – though she couldn't imagine how it had come to be. She, herself, had joined a "gang" of sorts in juvenile detention, years before Hollywood Arts happened to her; and some unspeakable things happened in that group of troubled preteens. Cat would have been a very square peg in a round hole.

"I'm sure…" she began hesitantly in the work of phrasing this to where Cat would understand. "I'm sure they do, but they're… they're _prisoners_. They're not safe."

The words seemed to pass through her. She set a hand loosely on Jade's shoulder, ignoring the stiffening of her muscles. "Aw, Jade... Do you want to join?"

Jade raised her eyebrows. "What? _No._ " She shook her hand away and crossed her arms as the night's cold air grazed her skin. "They wish I would be a part of their sad little…"

Her voice trailed off as a rather large woman passed by them. Once she was gone, she looked up again.

"-sad little gang," she finished.

Cat wrinkled her forehead, shrugging. "Okay, then." Leaning in as if to share a secret, she added, "But if you change your mind, me and the girls will be over there." She pointed over to a cluster of frightening women, and shot a smile over her shoulder before she ran off.

This conversation, like many others of Cat's, left Jade with more questions than before. She set her confusion aside and averted her eyes from the strange scene in the corner, instead turning toward the men's cell. She approached the bars, and her eyes flitted from person to person, attempting to locate someone she knew. He found her before she found him.

"Hey," Beck greeted as he reached the bars. She contained her smile into a tiny expression, and met him in the middle. His hand slipped through as an offering, and she took it from him. "Have you heard anything?"

Jade shook her head. "Tori says she's got some plan to get us out of here, so we'll see." Resting her forehead against the bars, she peered up at him and asked, "How are you guys doing?"

"These guys aren't all bad," Beck said optimistically, and so perfectly like himself. Jade couldn't understand how he was so calm in this situation; she was on edge for most of the day, except when here, as close to Beck as she could be with prison bars between them. Only when she was in the company of Tori Vega, the psycho who stabbed the Chancellor, did she feel safe from these women and their violent rock games – though she would never admit that Tori was any kind of decent company, nor would she admit to being intimidated by fellow prisoners. Not even to Beck.

"What about you?"

Jade looked up, having been distractedly staring down at his lips as he spoke. "Contemplating killing someone, but otherwise, I'm fine."

Beck smiled. "Don't kill anybody."

"Mm, I'll make no promises," she warned, and batted her eyelashes up at him. "Kiss me?"

He easily complied, tilting so that he could barely reach her lips through the bars, and kissed her. She reached her other hand out and tugged at his jumpsuit, pulling him in closer – and in this moment, she felt relief wash over her. She rarely closed her eyes in this cell block, for fear of the vulnerability, but she did now.

This risk did not go without punishment. And Jade jerked back at the pain.

It was a rock which parted them, large, and thrown precisely at their joined hands. They flew back in surprise, both shouting in pain; they both spun around toward the source of the rock.

 _"What was_ _ **that**_ _?"_ Jade shouted toward the men, rubbing her hand urgently.

"Hey, I don't wanna play!" Beck insisted, and turned back to Jade. "Sorry. Let me see your hand."

Anger worked vividly on Jade's face. "It's fine," she grumbled, and turned toward the men who threw the rock. "Your aim is embarrassing!"

"Don't provoke them."

"They deserve to be provoked," she complained. The men merely laughed at her. "Not all bad. I hate everyone here."

Beck pouted. "Everyone?"

She smirked. "Not you. Not André." Glancing over her shoulder, she added, "Not even Cat, though she tempts me."

And speaking of the devil – the male one, rather than the redhead – André approached the pair with wild eyes. "Beck!" he called until he reached his side.

"Hey, is every-"

"It's time for Rocks," he said in a low, serious tone.

Jade's eyes widened. "What? _No._ It's not _time for Rocks._ "

André was adamant. "Yeah, it is!"

" _No,_ " she reiterated, taking Beck's injured hand in her own and drawing his eyes to her. "You're not seriously going to go play that stupid game, are you? You'll get hurt!"

Beck didn't seem happy to leave, but his expression was set in certainty. "Babe, you saw them. I can't really say no."

As if on cue, another rock collided with the prison bars – but this time, they knew to withdraw their hands before they were hit. This attack only fueled her rage.

" _Hey!_ Throw one more at me! I dare you!" she screamed, and threw up an unkind finger. It was doubtful that they understood the American gesture, but she tried, anyway.

André was growing anxious by the time Beck caught her attention again. "I'll be okay," he assured her. "I've gotta go."

Although it was clear she still protested, she couldn't stop him from the other side of the bars; so she watched with worried eyes as he walked off with his friend, toward the game of Rocks. She sighed, trying not to be so concerned – anxiously she rocked back and forth on her feet, gripping the bars – until she couldn't keep herself from following along the bars. She walked down the side until she could see as well as she would, and from there, she watched.

"Hey, Jade!"

"What?" Jade snapped at the girl, whose cheery tone was the least appropriate sound for the moment.

Tori paused, offended, and huffed, "Well. I guess I won't tell you about my brilliant plan to get us _out_ of this prison."

"Not right now. I'm busy."

"Hey, ladies!" Robbie called, coming up on her other side. "What're we watching?"

Tori followed Jade's structured gaze and replied, "I don't know. The guys are doing something."

"Rocks," Jade muttered, and said no more. The game was being set, with Beck and two other men lined up against a wall. She bit her lip nervously, ignoring the pain it brought.

"What's going on?" interrupted Trina, who was about as welcome in Jade's company as Tori and Robbie were. "Is that Beck?"

"André's up next," Robbie replied.

"Everybody shut up," Jaded snapped, though the bite was gone from her tone, left only with fear. She held the bars in her fists and watched with rapt attention as the game began. The first rock flew.

Jade cringed as she watched the three men scramble along the wall, defending themselves with far fewer, smaller stones on hand. They were all silent as the round set off, until Beck was hit, and they all shouted.

"I can't watch this!" Trina whined and turned her head away. Jade might have felt angry at her for pretending like she cared so much, but she was too distracted.

Beck managed to return a few rocks before another smaller stone collided with his jaw; and Jade's knees buckled, though she remained upright. He was hit again in the leg, and again, before he managed to return fire – but by then, the round was ending, and Jade was void of intelligible thought.

"Oh, my god," Tori breathed as the game came to a pause. "Poor Beck."

Robbie backed away from the bars. "Glad I'm not over there."

"Me, too," Trina said mindlessly, and they all shot her an incredulous look at her silly response – all except Jade, who was frozen in place. She remained still until she thought they had left her.

Jade watched silently, face fallen, as Beck picked himself up from the game. He was rushed out of the way as the next round was beginning, but André helped him to his feet. Jade felt indebted to André for doing for Beck what she couldn't. They were always targeting the Americans, and Beck, in particular, continued to see the brunt of it.

"Are you all right, Jade?"

She sighed. "Leave me alone."

Tori was quiet for a little while, standing at her side nonetheless. Jade didn't know why she remained, but she wasn't ungrateful for the company. Still, she did not speak to her until Beck was settled on a bench, away from the game.

Without looking her way, Jade asked numbly, "What's your plan?"

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or its characters.**

* * *

 _Drama, drama, drama. I was really into the image of Jade showing concern for Beck from a helpless position (since normally she would've just kicked the ass of anyone who tried to hurt him, no problem) so there ya go. Review? :)_

 _**-Songbird341-**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Everything She Does is Beautiful**

* * *

 _Beck and Jade (and all of the people) board the duck truck and ride to the airport._

* * *

For the first time since they had arrived in Yerba, all was well.

The scene wasn't perfect, of course. They were all dirtied from prison life, naturally, and exhausted from running. There was a woman in the corner whom Beck didn't recognize, and in the other corner, Trina, whose complaining didn't always light up the room. Everyone was bruised from prison fights and rough Yerbanian soldiers. And they were still fugitives in a strange country.

But now, despite all the disaster they'd seen on this trip, Beck knew with certainty that they were going home – and this knowledge colored everything more brightly. He could not mind when Trina flirted with him, or when Tori complained about feeling dirty, or when Robbie refused to stop hugging André, or even when Cat screamed at the top of her lungs every time the truck drove over a large bump in the road. He could only sit back, close his eyes, and sigh in relief, for knowing that the unusual bunch of friends, plus a few others, were together again.

Also together were he and Jade, and somehow, this turned an annoying truck ride into a moment in heaven.

He didn't know how they had wound up here, so close when so soon after a fight. The last time they had spoken before the prison performance, they had disagreed over her attempt to get them out. All he remembered was seeing red, or maybe green, when he caught her flirting relentlessly with a prison guard; and though he had known why she did it, he had been too jealous to resist an argument. It hadn't helped that metal bars had kept them apart for nearly a week – not to touch, not to hold, and not to kiss. Perhaps this had been the origin of their frustration.

Sometime since then, their hearts had changed. Maybe while they watched each other perform, or maybe as they ran from the prison, they had forgiven the issue; but certainly, they had forgotten it by the time they loaded into the duck truck. The instant they set foot in the vehicle, Beck's arms were around her, and he pulled her against him, holding her for the first time in what felt like a year – and he kissed her, and he pressed her into his chest, and he realized, for the first time in too long, how much those simple actions meant to him.

Now, in the full darkness of night and shivering against the cold air, she lay curled in his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, and there, they sat in long spells of silence. They merely listened to everyone's busy chattering, and relaxed.

"I can't wait for a shower!" Tori said for what was probably the fifth time in twenty minutes.

"I can't wait for a hamburger," André replied, and then followed, "Robbie, would you scoot over?"

"Sorry."

"We're going _really_ fast!" Cat pointed out, and turned in her seat to sit up on her knees. Then she stuck her tongue out like a dog in a car window.

"Cat, that's dangerous-"

"Shoosh!" she shot back at Robbie, who promptly shooshed.

While Tori and André tag-teamed telling Cat to sit back down, Beck pulled Jade closer into his chest and exhaled a long breath. "You tired?" he asked, though he knew the answer. She had been drifting in and out of sleep for a while now.

His question must have jarred her from her half-sleeping state; she jolted under his jacket, eyes slowly opening to look up at him. "I'll sleep on the plane."

"We won't be at the airport for a while. We've gotta get past the border first."

"Mhmm."

Beck smiled at her sleepy response and ran his hand through her hair. He wouldn't have to convince her to sleep at this rate. So he laid his head on hers and stretched back in his seat. He was content to lie there without another word.

But still, he felt a sort of guilt prompting him to speak. "Babe?"

"Yeah?"

He swallowed. "I'm sorry about all of this. Not going to Cancun, you know. And fighting."

And she replied with something she rarely ever said without being asked. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry," she repeated under her breath.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Shut up!" she said playfully, and shoved him. "I am. And when we get back… I'm… gonna try to fix things with your aunt. Maybe."

Beck blinked in surprise, his teasing nature gone in an instant. "Really?"

"Don't make a big deal out of it," she muttered, and kissed his chest where his jumpsuit unbuttoned.

In reply, he kissed the top of her head and whispered, "I love you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She sighed a tired breath. "I love you, too."

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or its characters.**

* * *

 _This is called "resolution", I think? Is that what this is supposed to be?_

 _But seriously, I'm glad I read back on this and posted. It's been great to revisit the fandom and see some of my old writing published again. Thank you guys so much for bearing with me one more time. Don't forget to leave your final thoughts in that comment section – it would make my day._

 _I now retreat back into the depths. Thanks again :)_

 _**-Songbird341-**_


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